12 easy habits to be happier

Don't hold back your negative thoughts

To be happier it is essential to know how to manage your thoughts. If you insist on repressing the negatives, the only thing you will achieve is to become obsessed with what you are trying to avoid. This is demonstrated by studies conducted by New York psychologists. To ward off negative thoughts it is more advantageous to find ways to distract yourself, focus on work or share time with the people you love.

If something worries you, write about it

Richard Wiseman, author of the book 59 Seconds. Think a little to change the world , bet on "expressive writing", a very effective method to be happier. The effects of writing about the thoughts and feelings that weigh us down are quickly reflected in our state of mind. Writing invites you to create a structure that gives meaning to what happened and goes towards a solution

Do not get used to what you have, value it

If we listen to a sound constantly, we stop perceiving it. The same goes for the things in our life that are worthwhile: eventually we stop seeing them. That invisibility becomes dangerous for our spirits when you only look at the negative things. To combat this dynamic, spend five minutes a week thinking about the things that make your life better. It is enough to increase your level of optimism.

Take an interest in others

Self-help guru Dale Carnegie maintains that one way to increase popularity is to express a genuine interest in others. You get more friends like that in two months than trying twenty years to get others to care about you.

Recycle the energy of bad vibes

Faced with a painful situation, try to convert anger and helplessness into positive energy. Ask yourself, can this experience help me to be stronger? To appreciate what I do not value? To become a better person?

Don't buy so much, live and share more

Enjoying experiences makes people happier than objects. The explanation is that our mind distorts the moments lived, forgetting the negative and highlighting the positive. From travel, for example, we do not remember tiredness or mosquitoes. On the contrary, the products that can attract us so much at one time tend to lose their appeal over time. Also, experiences are often shared.

Gestures that give happiness

We smile when we are happy, but we are also happier because we smile, and several studies have shown this. Keeping a sincere smile for 15 to 30 seconds is enough to positively modify our emotions. Likewise, walking relaxed, swinging the arms more, emphasizing the movement of the hands when speaking or nodding more frequently when listening are gestures that will help you change your mood.

Unmask the liars

There are tricks to keep you safe from liars. He is suspicious of someone who gets lost in unnecessary details, hesitates and tries to avoid references to himself. If you need a guarantee, try to get that person to contact you via email. We lie 20% less through email than through phone calls. Words are blown away by the wind, but printed paper is not.

Change things in your life

There are two types of changes in our lives: circumstantial (they have more to do with general changes than with our participation) and intentional (those that require an effort on our part). Achieving the seconds gives a greater and lasting satisfaction. It's a great investment to start new hobbies, projects, or learn a new sport.

Listen to yourself and you will find the solution

Our consciousness is like a noisy person who does not let us hear our inner self. And that's often where we find the solutions. To give your interior a voice, try to find moments of relaxation to allow your brain to find new connections.

No goal is too far

The effectiveness of any plan is based on knowing how to divide it into small objectives that make the project achievable. If you have to face a task that seems overwhelming, think about dedicating "just a few minutes." When fear, laziness or responsibility paralyze us, it is the best strategy, since it not only helps us to get going, but it is most likely that, once we are in place, we will dedicate much more than that time to it.

Look at yourself with each other's eyes

Look at yourself with the eyes of the other

Although one of the bases of positive thinking to be happier is to visualize the goal, those who see themselves taking the steps to achieve the goal are more likely to succeed than those who limit themselves to fantasizing. And if you see yourself through the eyes of others you have a better chance of success.

We mistakenly believe that happiness is yet to come. "I will be happy when I find a partner", "I would be happier if I received a higher salary", "If this did not happen to me, I would be happier", these and other thoughts are common when we reflect on our well-being. We are not going to fall into the cliché of saying that happiness is made up of small moments - which perhaps it is - but we are going to explain to you in the gallery above what the changes are, according to psychologist Richard Wiseman, which you can apply from now your day to day to feel better and try to be a little bit happier.

"Happiness doesn't come from success. Actually, it's its cause" Richard Wiseman

Little habits that help

Bad moments and negative thoughts will always exist, it is not about blocking everything sad in your life. The important thing is to learn to drive them away. Find ways to distract yourself when shadows appear.

Smile more, really. Keeping a smile for 15 or 30 seconds helps to modify our emotions.

Talking about what worries us is important, but what is really effective is putting it on paper. The act of writing makes us structure our thoughts and find the solution to a conflict almost without meaning to.

It is important to force small changes in our life. They help us to feel alive and, in addition, to live new experiences. Learn a new language, practice a different hobby or just listen to music that you are not used to. Everything helps.

When a problem, a task or an objective becomes difficult for you, divide by mini objectives and assign them a time. This is how we make any project affordable.

Be happier with what you have

It is important to value what you already have, which is sure to be a lot. Spend five minutes a week thinking about the good things: family, friends, work, skills … Surely in all areas of your life there is something worthwhile. It is an infallible technique to increase your levels of optimism.

It's not going to make you happier, but having more life experiences, yes. In addition, experiences are often shared, while the purchase of objects is usually an individual gesture that tends to distance us and isolate us from our friends.

There are many things that your subconscious already knows, but that you do not want to hear. External noise makes us not stop to feel what our interior is saying, and that is where we can find the truth or the solution to many problems that overwhelm us.

Turn negative energy from things that happen to you that you don't like into positive solutions. Or at least, in apprenticeships. When you think that when something bad happens to you it is terrible, try to turn it around and write down three positive things about the situation. It will give you the strength you need to overcome.

The psychologist Rafael Santandreu teaches us weekly tips to be happier on his blog. Follow it!